Meanwhile, France has deployed an aircraft carrier off Bahrain to be used against the extremist.

Planes from the Charles de Gaulle carrier will target Islamist positions in Iraq, Jean-Yves Le Drian, a spokesman for the defense minister, said.

The first Rafale fighter jet took off on Monday morning from the carrier about 200 kilometers off the northern coast of Bahrain.

Cazeneuve said authorities had acted against the six men after their departure to Syria appeared to be imminent.

Their passports and identity cards have been confiscated for six months, after which the order can be renewed. They have the right to appeal against the move in court.

Some of the men were reported to the authorities by relatives using a newly established telephone hotline while others were identified by police investigations.

French officials quoted by Reuters news agency estimate that about 400 French citizens are in Syria, 180 have returned to France, 200 want to go and 200 are somewhere in Europe trying to get there.

France has been on alert after 17 people were killed in attacks on the satirical Charlie Hebdo magazine and a Jewish supermarket in January.

British officials think some 600 Britons have fought in Syria, with 300 having returned.

Police can now seize passports for up to 30 days from nationals trying to leave the country, in addition to temporarily stopping citizens suspected of involvement with the militants from entering Britain.

Last week, three British schoolgirls reportedly left London to travel to Syria through Turkey.

“Wrong” actions of the United States with regard to Taiwan, and the US military’s South China Sea patrols and deployment of an advanced anti-missile system in South Korea have had a large, negative influence...

The resurgence of ultra-right and Neo-Nazi groups in the US has given rise to historical revisionism in recent years, under which the mainstream and orthodox views held by academics about controversial historical figures are...

China on Wednesday urged India to protect peace and stability at their border, saying the mutual agreements related to the 1959 line of control should be upheld scrupulously. A foreign ministry spokesperson called on...

US President Donald Trump announced the disbanding of two business advisory councils after several chief executives quit the panels in protest over Trump’s response to the weekend violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. The American Manufacturing...

The recent racial riots in Charlottesville, Virginia, have shocked the world, and everyone, including US President Donald Trump, have condemned the violence, even though he has obviously pulled his punches on the white supremacists...

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates handed over 64 million shares of the software giant to his foundation in June, a US$4.68 billion donation based on current share prices, the Wall Street Journal reports. The donation...